Source: Melissa & Doug/the Toy Insider

Can I interest you in a colorful butterfly necklace that’s both stylish and sustainable?

Melissa & Doug’s Created by Me! Bead Bouquet Wooden Bead Kit encourages creativity in kids ages 4 and up and lets their styles shine through jewelry-making.

The kit comes with almost everything kids need to create bold jewelry inspired by their personal sense of style. For only $16.29, the kit includes eight cords, eight clasps, and more than 220 colorful, wooden beads. The cords come in six different colors — pink, blue, purple, orange, yellow, and green — that complement the wide variety of wooden beads. (An adult will also want to have scissors handy to cut the cords later on!) 

Created By Me! Bead Bouquet Wooden Bead Kit box | Source: Melissa & Doug

The jewelry-making process is simple and straight-forward enough for kids to design their own shareable works of art. First, jewelry-makers will pick out a cord color and a bunch of beads. The wooden beads come in a variety of sizes and shapes, including hearts, butterflies, and flowers. The thin cords are long enough to make either a necklace or a couple of bracelets with each strand. The ends of the cords are also wrapped in plastic to make slipping on the beads an easy task.

Once the beads are on the cord in the perfect order, kids will add one of the clasps to complete their accessory. They may need an adult’s help with tying a triple knot to secure the clasp and using scissors to cut off any excess cord.

Created By Me! Bead Bouquet Wooden Bead Kit contents | Source: Melissa & Doug

Although there are only a few clasps and cords, kids will have plenty of wooden beads leftover for other projects. Parents can purchase extra cords and clasps to keep the fun going, and kids can try a few different bead combinations before committing to a design.

Related: Get a Taste of Island Life with Aquabeads Animal Crossing: New Horizons

There’s even more fun to be had after designing the jewelry. Kids can dress their dolls or stuffed animals in their creations and host an elegant tea party or spread out their jewelry and pretend to sell it to eager customers. Or, kids can trace the remaining wooden flowers and butterflies on a piece of paper and color them in to create an enchanting garden scene. 

When it’s time to put everything away, the beads and other supplies can fit back in the wooden box the kit comes in. Kids just need to be extra careful with clean-up, as my necklaces tangled together really fast when I tossed them in the box. 

Whether kids are designing for themselves, a friend, or a stuffed animal companion, jewelry lovers will find a perfect creative outlet in this wooden kit.

About the author

Madison Eubanks

Madison Eubanks

Madison Eubanks is an editorial intern at the Pop Insider, the Toy Insider, and the Toy Book. When she’s not binge-watching the entire Harry Potter film series for the 42nd time or thrifting for vintage toys, Madison contributes her writing to all three publications. She is excited to explore the world of toys and pop culture. In her free time, Madison enjoys listening to music, writing film reviews, and performing roller skating tricks.

archivearrow-chevron-downarrow-chevron-left-greyarrow-chevron-leftarrow-chevron-rightarrow-fatarrow-left-blackarrow-left-whitearrow-right-blackarrow-rightarrow-roundedbookscalendarcaret-downclose-whiteclosedocumenteditorial-archiveeyefacebook-squarefacebookfilesgifthamburgerheadinghearthomeinstagram-squareinstagramlatestlinkedin-squarelinkedinmailmedia-inquiresmessagenewsopen-boxpagination-leftpagination-rightpauseplayprintproduct-archiverecent-productssearchsharesort-filterspotifysunteamtiktoktime_purpletimetrendingtvtwitter-squaretwitteryoutube